Manhattan Made
by cgal120
Summary: In the centre of Manhattan lives a group of friends all as diverse as each other, and each of them are trying to make their way through the world one step at a time. But with life and love becoming the pressures of society, how will learn the difference between what they want and what they really need? FRIENDS AU. Multiple pairings. Nyotalia. Main pairing: UKxFem!US.
1. The One Where It All Began

**Manhattan Made**

**Chapter One**

**The One Where It All Began**

Rain was pouring heavily down on the busy streets of Manhattan, the citizens going about their daily business in an oblivious manner. They ignored everything as they wandered through the streets under umbrellas, hailing taxis occasionally and walking in and out of various places of business.

One local hotspot, known as Central Perk Café, was already bustling with life as patrons ventured in on their ways to work, class or home to get a piping hot cup of their famous coffee. No seating in the café was livelier than that of the group taking up the comfiest couches available near the back of the building.

They were regular patrons having gone there for as long as the manager could remember – definitely before he started working their, but they were such an array of characters that he knew of them before that point in time.

"My date last night really isn't that big of a deal!" exclaimed Gwen Kirkland – a 22-year-old export from Great Britain. She had moved to the city at the age of five with her older brother and parents, graduated college and was now a trainee chef.

"Sure it is," grinned Alfred Jones, leaning forwards in his seat next to the sofas. He was a 23-year-old native New Yorker who had joined the rabble when he met Gwen's older brother in college. No one really knew what he did for a living – something to do with computers. "You hardly ever get dates!"

"To be fair she is fairly quiet," said Lovino Vargas, sipping his coffee as he watched Gwen's eyebrows rise in defence. Originally from Sicily, 23-year-old Lovino and his younger sister had moved to New York with their parents at the age of 10 with the ambition of becoming an actor. "But that's still no excuse not to tell us who this guy is!"

"Leave her alone," said the final person, 23-year-old Carmen Cariedo. She was the newest member of the group though she had lived in the city since the age of 5. She was a bubbly, cheerful character that tried to do all she could for everyone around her, though her mischievous side from the days she had to live on the streets often showed. The group had accepted her as a friend after they had seen her playing guitar in the café one evening and talked to her – despite the tragedy of her life she was always optimistic. "It really doesn't matter who she's going out with as long as they make her happy, so back off."

"Thank you," sighed Gwen, running her fingers through her long blonde hair. Carmen chuckled and patted her friend on the shoulder, shooting the two guys looks as they attempted to get more information out of her. "Eventually I'll tell you, okay? I just want to make sure that's he's the right one… It's only the first date, I don't want to do anything too… extravagant just yet."

"We totally understand!" said Alfred, moving to sit next to her on the arm of the sofa. "So tell us so that we can make an assessment of our own! We could know him and know if he's a dick or not!"

"Yeah," Lovino nodded. "We don't want you getting hurt."

"Nice try," Gwen scoffed. "But you are not getting anything out of me."

"I will give you $50 to tell me," offered Alfred.

"No!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

15 minutes passed and the group was still trying to prise the information out of Gwen, the British girl keeping her lips tightly sealed and refusing to give them any confirmation on who her date was with that evening. The rain was still coming down hard and fast, the whole of the outside looking miserable and gloomy.

Looking round as they heard the door open once more, Gwen jumped to her feet in surprise, moving around the sofa to meet her older brother, Arthur, as he walked numbly over to them. She carefully took the closed umbrella from his cold, soaked hands, leading him over to the sofa to sit him down as Alfred hurried to get him a cup of tea. The 23-year-old palaeontologist sighed heavily as he sunk into the seat, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, it's definitely over now…" he mumbled.

"You've got the keys to your new place?" Lovino asked.

Arthur nodded. "I'm gonna need help building my new furniture though…" he said. "Ambre got to keep everything except my books and movies. Basically, anything we bought together she keeps, anything she bought she keeps, anything I bought got thrown into a very damp cardboard box…"

"And you really didn't know she was a lesbian?" questioned Alfred, setting the cup on the table in front of him. Arthur shot him a glare.

"Of course I didn't," he snapped. "I didn't know until I caught her and Scarlet Clarkland on the sofa…"

"You got had," Lovino said, shaking his head. He yelped slightly and ducked as Gwen through a cushion at him, scowling at her for a moment before he got distracted by Arthur sighing depressingly.

"All I want is for my marriage to work…" groaned Arthur. "I just want my wife…"

"Well, you're wife and you share one common interest now so I don't think it'll work out," Alfred commented.

"Fine… Okay… I just want to be married again then…"Arthur said, looking at his friend. "I just want a wife, a family, to settle down and be normal…"

At that moment, the group felt a sudden chill behind them as the door to the coffee shop opened once more, but it was joined by the sounds of gasps and mutters from patrons near that area. Looking round, they looked on in utter surprise as a young woman roughly the same age as them hurried inside – but she was wearing a soaked white wedding dress and veil, her eyes puffy and red from crying and an anxious expression on her face; and Gwen, Arthur and Alfred recognised her straight away.

"And I just want $1,000,000," shouted Alfred, looking to the ceiling.

"Amelia?" said Gwen, getting up from her seat to move around the sofa to meet the woman who looked at her in such utter relief she looked as though she would cry once more.

"Gwen…" sobbed Amelia, letting Gwen steer her over to the group. "I can't believe I actually found you here…"

"What are you doing here, Sweetie?" Gwen asked, looking her up and down. "Aren't you meant to be marrying… what's his name… today?"

"Jay… I walked out clearly…" Amelia choked. She took a deep breath and looked around at the others.

"Oh, yeah!" Gwen said, looking at them too. "Guys, this Amelia – she was in my class at school. This is Lovino, Alfred, Carmen, and you remember Arthur right?"

"Sure!" Amelia replied, waving at the others as she made her way over to Arthur. "Hey, Arthur!"

"Hi…" replied Arthur getting up to give her a hug, only to flinch as the umbrella Gwen had thrown back at him popped open between them. Amelia yelped slightly and backed off, chuckling awkwardly as she was made to sit down on the couch by Gwen. "So, uh… What… What's going on?"

"I couldn't do it…" Amelia sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I was there in the gifts room, looking at this gravy boat… A really pretty silver gravy boat… And that was when I realised I was more turned on by this damn gravy boat than I was by Jay… So, I climbed out of the window and ran… I went to your building, Gwen, to find out where you were and a guy said you'd likely be here… You're the only friend I have in the city…"

"You're only friend in the city that wasn't actually invited to the wedding," Gwen pointed out.

"I was hoping we could skip past that part…" Amelia replied quietly. She looked at Gwen with a sheepish yet apologetic expression, causing the older girl to sigh softly and put her hand on her old friend's shoulder.

"Let's get you up to my apartment then so you can dry off…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Waiting for a little longer to let the storm ease up slightly, the group made their way through the city, around two blocks until they reached the apartment complex where Gwen, Lovino and Alfred lived. The trio lived opposite each other on the same floor, Lovino and Alfred sharing an apartment whilst Gwen lived in one that was once owned by hers and Arthur's grandmother. It was on the fourth floor up so the trek up the stairs was difficult for Amelia in her large wedding dress – but with help from the others they got her inside and in the warmth of the apartment.

"Can I used your phone to call my Daddy?" asked Amelia, taking off the headdress that was starting to matte her blonde hair.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Gwen replied, pointing over to the small table beside the couch in the middle of the room. She watched her friend, sighing a little before flopping down into the small single seat adjacent to the couch. Alfred and Arthur glanced at one another before shrugging and taking a seat at the kitchen table whilst Lovino and Carmen took their usual positions on the couch. They all watched as Amelia dialled the number of her father's phone quickly, pacing as she waited for the call to be put through.

"Hi, Daddy…" she muttered, her free arm wrapping around her waist as the others started to hear the loud, muffled shouts of Amelia's father coming through the receiver. "I know Daddy… Daddy. Daddy listen to me. DADDY! This isn't what I want for my life! You and everyone always tell me that I need to do this; this will be good for me… I won't ever amount to anything but a trophy wife… But I want to be more than that, Daddy! I don't love Jay… I know he's got good prospects… I don't care that he's a dentist! He's not good for me, Daddy! He's not what I want! Everyone's always told me 'Amelia, you're a shoe! You're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe!' but today I turned and said to myself 'maybe I don't want to be a shoe. Maybe I want to be a hat! Or a purse…. NO, I DON'T WANT A HAT, DADDY! I'M SAYING I AM A HAT… IT'S A METAPHORE, DADDY!"

"You can see where he got confused," Arthur commented, glancing at Alfred who sniggered into his glass of Coke. Amelia shot them both a glare before sighing into the phone.

"Maybe I'll just stay here with Gwen, then!," she said. Everyone at that point turned to Gwen who sunk in her seat and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I think we've established she's staying with Gwen then," commented Gwen.

"Well, maybe I don't want your money," she said, blinking as a dial tone sounded. "I said MAYBE." Sighing heavily, she set the phone back into its stand and flopped down onto the sofa between Lovino and Carmen – she put her head into her hands and took a deep breath, glancing at Carmen as she felt her hand rest lightly on her shoulder. She sent her a small smile to show her appreciation before glancing over at Gwen. "Can I stay with you?"

"Of course you can, Sweetie," Gwen replied, shifting to sit on the coffee table opposite her friend. She took her hands and smiled. "You can borrow some of my clothes, get out of that damp dress and we'll go get your stuff from Jay's whilst at your parent's house."

"I've really fucked up haven't I?" muttered Amelia.

"No, you have done a really good thing," Alfred smiled, leaning over the back of the shoulder. "You've broke out of your comfort zone and stepped into the real world."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The girls went alone to Amelia's parent's house as the guys headed to Arthur's to move his new furniture into his new apartment. It took the girls 40 minutes to get Amelia's belongings from Jay's house, putting everything they could into the trunk and back of the taxi that Carmen's grandmother owned.

Once it was all done, they helped her unpack into the spare bedroom in Gwen's home. Amelia sat on the bed, a pillow on her lap as she looked around her light pink bedroom sadly – she felt totally lost, not knowing what it was she had to do with her life now or what her real purpose was. Gwen sat down on the bed with her and put her arm around her, looking at Carmen as she sat down too and smoothed the younger woman's hair.

"It's going to be okay," smiled the Spaniard. "You'll be fine once you've gotten over this and back onto your feet again."

"Really?" asked Amelia, looking between them. They nodded.

"All you have to do is calm yourself down, then we'll make you a résumé and start putting them about to find you a job," Gwen said.

"A job?"

"Yeah, that's how we make money to pay rent for our places and everything else we want," Carmen said, looking at Amelia's confused expression.

"Really?" she muttered quietly. "Daddy's always paid for everything for me… so I've never really needed a job before…"

"Well, you're getting one because I'm going to need help with the rent now you're here," Gwen said, nudging the younger girl fondly. "It won't be too hard though – you're qualified and everything but before you get into the heavy duty stuff, we'll find you a small job just to get you started."

"You have all of us behind you," Carmen smiled. "So don't panic."

"What do you guys do?" asked Amelia.

"Well, I'm a trainee chef," Gwen explained. "You remember how much I loved cooking as a child."

"Yeah, you would make the best brownies and Arthur's food would look like something died," Amelia chuckled, sniffing slightly.

"Well, now I work in a big kitchen as an… understudy, of sorts, to the head chef, learning all the ropes of a gourmet restaurant," Gwen smiled.

"And I'm a masseuse and musician," Carmen grinned.

"You have two jobs?!"

"Not really," Carmen sighed. "Massaging is my main job – I'm certified and everything to give the best massages this side of Manhattan. But the musician thing is just a side line thing I like to do on Saturday nights at the coffee house. I play guitar and sing songs I've written and get some pretty good tips to keep me afloat."

"Oh…" Amelia said, hugging the pillow closer to her. They looked round as they heard the front door open and close, getting up from the bed and heading out into the main part of the apartment to see the guys all flopping down onto the sofa and groaning.

"You guys look as though you've just ran a marathon…" Gwen observed, moving over to slap Alfred's feet off of her coffee table. The American man looked up at her disgruntled but caved under her stern stare.

"My furniture was a little more… difficult to put together than we had first imagined…" Arthur explained, rubbing his head. "Jesus, I have never seen so many different types of screws before…"

"That Swedish guy in the store certainly saw you coming…" Lovino grumbled, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"Fuck you, Lovino," Arthur snapped, sitting up in his seat and looking to the girls as they took seats on the floor by the TV around the coffee table. "How was it getting your stuff, Amie? Did it go okay?"

"Yeah," the girl replied. "It was… tough… but it all turned out okay in the end. I'm all settled now."

"We were talking about jobs just before you came in," Carmen said. "Getting Amelia ready for her job hunt tomorrow."

"Oh?" Arthur smiled.

"Yeah," Amelia replied. "What do you guys do?"

"I'm a palaeontologist," Arthur said. "I work at the Natural History Museum on the other side of town doing research on different dinosaurs and such."

"That sounds pretty cool," Amelia smiled.

"I'm an IT procurement manager," Alfred said.

"A what?"

"I basically specialise in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration," Alfred continued. Everyone gave him a blank look. "Seriously?!"

"Anyways…" Lovino hummed, leaning forwards. "I'm an actor."

"Oh! Would I have seen you in anything?" asked Amelia.

"Not unless you've got a link to Japanese commercials," Alfred smirked.

"Go step on a Lego."

Amelia chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked over at Arthur when she realised he was smiling at her, returning the smile.

"We all had to start where you are now," he said softly. "So don't worry too much about getting a crappy job with minimum pay because one day you'll be earning big. You've just got to keep trying and looking."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Gwen and Lovino were sat in the coffee house enjoying a quiet lunchtime after helping Amelia make and print out tons of résumés – she had insisted on going out by herself though.

"So she and Alfred really aren't related in any way?" Lovino asked. "I mean, I asked him last night and he said no but…"

"I know, Arthur and I were the same when we first met her on our street," Gwen said, sipping her tea. "She and Alfred look alike, act alike and have the same last name – but they are no more related than you and I."

"They're so weird…" Lovino sighed.

"Amelia does have a sister though," Gwen said. "Emily. She's a nasty piece of work – basically Amelia's total opposite, yet equally as clueless about the real world."

"Sounds delightful…"

"What's delightful?" asked Carmen as she walked over to them from the counter. She sat down on the small seat, bringing her feet up onto the seat and crossing her legs.

"Just…" started Lovino, only to be cut off as the coffee house door opened suddenly and a very happy Amelia ran over to them with arms full of shopping. "Wow, you're very chipper."

"I am," Amelia grinned. "I sent out all my résumés, went to places to talk to the managers and bosses and got laughed at everywhere and still haven't got a penny to my name, but that doesn't matter because I have new boots!"

"Oh wow! New boots!" Lovino replied sarcastically. "What are new boots going to help you with?"

"Nothing, but they are a symbol!" said Amelia. They motioned for her to continue. "They are a symbol of my new life! They are my new I-don't-need-a-man-I-don't-need-a-job-I-don't-need -my-parent's-money boots!"

"And if you haven't a penny to your name, how did you pay for them?" asked Gwen, sitting back in her seat and folding her arms smugly.

"…A credit card…"

"And who, pray tell, pays for said credit card?"

"…My father…"

"Come on," Gwen sighed, getting up. "We're going home and you are going to cut yourself off from them totally once and for all."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Having met with Alfred halfway into the building, the group headed back up into the apartment where they emptied Amelia's purse of every single credit and membership card that was paid for by her father. They sat her at the kitchen table with the cards in front of her on the table, the girl's eyes widening as Gwen set a pair of scissors down too.

"It's time, Amelia, for you to stand on your own two feet."

"Cut! Cut! Cut!" chanted the other three, Gwen joining in when Amelia sighed and picked up the scissors. Hesitantly, she took a card and started to cut into it, continuing the process until all the cards were in tiny pieces and her friends were cheering.

However, the cheering ended when Arthur walked into the apartment dazedly – Gwen hurrying over to her brother worriedly when he didn't respond to them.

"Arthur?" she said, steering him to a seat. "Arthur, talk to us… What's happened? What's the matter?"

"I just got a call from Ambre…" he muttered.

"And?"

"She's pregnant…"

_**Notes:**_

**Hello and welcome to a new series that I have been wanting to work on for so long but kept getting distracted by other things. Yes, it is based on the TV series F.R.I.E.N.D.S and my Lord am I going to have a lot of fun with this xD**

**The first thing I have to say is this is going to follow a similar line of plots but with my own twists and changes whenever I see fit :) So, if you are a fan of F.R.I.E.N.D.S then you will be in for a treat, and anyone familiar with my stories will also get their wishes ;D**

**So, onto my choices of characters and the reasoning behind them:**

**_Amelia as Rachel_ – Rachel is spoilt at first but learns to be her own person. She's bubbly, smart in both sense of street and brain – but not to the extent that she'd get a PhD or anything, and she is incredibly confident. That's basically how I see Amelia.**

**_Arthur as Ross_ – my hetero-USUK feels were out again. Ross is smart, just that right sense of crazy and let's face it, Arthur is the same. They both have relationships that no one really understands and I thought the characters fit.**

**_Gwen (Fem!England) as Monica_ – I don't care how many people will say 'BUT ENGLAND CAN'T COOK', there are some parts of English food that aren't bad! It's a stereotype, people, so I'm focusing another side of that (the areas that include Deliah, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey) in Gwen. Monica is OCD on everything and I like Fem!England that way. Also, the name choice will be explained in story soon.**

**_Alfred as Chandler_ – I didn't want them to be related but I love both forms of America so much. Chandler is a joker who's good with IT and Maths, video games and comics which is just like my idea of Alfred.**

**_Lovino as Joey_ – Joey is part Italian and is obsessed with food. Lovino loves food. They could both be considered equal in acting abilities so that's my reasoning.**

**_Carmen (Fem!Spain) as Phoebe_ – guitars, zaniness and tragedy all building to a strong yet insecure character.**

**_Ambre (Fem!France) as Carol_ – I like FrUK… It's one of my guilty pleasure pairings, but I do also really like Fem!France. I thought they fit…**

**_Scarlet (Fem!Scotland) as Susan_ – Once more, a guilty pleasure pairing… Auld Alliance… Scarlet and Arthur aren't related in this, hence the last name change (Clarkland being the originally speculated last name given to Arthur before Kirkland was made official). **

**_Jay (2P!America) as Barry_ – They don't fit in the slightest, but I saw art from HurrHurr of 2P!USxFem!US and they stuck… I know he's portrayed as tough and burly with that big ass bat, but come on… I wanted to portray him as less of a psycho and more of a mild mannered vegetarian dorky dentist… Who likes to bang his fiancés maid of honour who will be revealed later.**

**I'll go over other characters and stuff when they pop up but you'll have to bear with me with some choices and wait to see how it plays out.**

**But yeah! I hope you stick around for the laughs, tears and love! You are all awesome! :)**


	2. The One with the Sonogram at the End

**Manhattan Made**

**Chapter Two**

**The One with the Sonogram at the End**

The group were in a silent state of shock, watching as Gwen steered Arthur over to the sofa and helped him sit down in his sated state. There were no words that they could think of in those few minutes after his announcement – none of them had even considered that that would happen since their divorce…

Arthur flopped down onto the sofa and stared at the coffee table, not registering the fact that everyone was starting to crowd around him. Gwen sat down beside her brother and glanced at the others. They all looked just as confused as she did but no one was speaking.

"A-Arthur… What do you mean Ambre's pregnant?" she finally asked, drawing her brother out of his downward spiral.

"Exactly what I said," he replied, running his fingers through as he sat forward in his chair. "She came to the museum earlier when I was at work and told me… God, she looked… She looked incredible and happy and… She said that I could do what I wanted, the ball is in my court, but she and Scarlet will be the raising the child…"

"Aren't you two divorced?" asked Amelia. "Not that I'm trying to be rude or anything, but… how is she pregnant? Or rather how far gone is she?"

"Well… the last time we had sex was about… a month or so ago… so I'd say she'd probably be about that far gone," Arthur said, glancing at the girl as if to say 'does that answer your question'. Amelia put her hand on his arm and gave him a gentle expression not really knowing what to say to him in that moment – she looked at the others to get some help but they seemed to be having about as much luck at finding the right words as she was.

"Everything will be okay," she said, drawing Arthur's attention back to her as his head had dipped to look down at his knees. He looked at her bleakly. "No really. Think about it: they are offering you the chance to look after this child too. You are going to be a father and no doubt you'll make a great one too! Who cares if it's awkward between you, Ambre and Scarlet? They are going to be the baby's mothers, but you… you're gonna be the baby's dad. They may live with Mommy 1 and Mommy 2 for some of the time, but they will come to you and they will love you! You'll be the one that they can run away to and talk to about stuff they can't with Ambre and Scarlet. I don't know a whole lot about children, but I know this kid will love you more than anything."

"You really think all that?" asked Arthur, genuinely surprised by the sincerity he saw in Amelia's eyes. She nodded. "Thanks, Amie..."

"Any time, Arthur," she smiled.

"I'm going to go home and sleep this shock of," Arthur said, getting to his feet. "Oh, and Amie, before I forget! I talked to the manager of the Central Perk before I went to work earlier, Kiku Honda, and mentioned you were looking for work… He remembered you as the girl in the wedding dress but he said that if you were interested pop by in the morning at 8 to speak to him and you can start a training shift… I know it's not much and it's only a little job for now but it's a start…"

Grinning, Amelia jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around Arthur's neck, almost tackling him to the floor as she hugged him happily. "Thank you so much, Arthur!" she laughed, smiling up at him brightly. "You really got me an interview?!"

"Well, I… I guess so yeah…" Arthur replied, tentatively holding her waist. He was very conscious of the others watching them – particularly his sister who wore a light smirk on her face as she remembered the deep infatuation he had had on their grinning friend when they were younger. "Anyways, remember to be there at 8 okay? And dress casually, it's only a waitressing job not a catwalk."

Amelia chuckled and let him go. "Okay, Arthur. Thank you so much."

"You're more than welcome," Arthur replied, smiling a little as he made his way back to the door. As soon as he left, Amelia turned and grinned at the others only to see their expressions.

"What?"

"That was a very touching moment you two had just then," Alfred grinned.

"He's my friend," Amelia replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't see any of you stepping up to try and make him feel better about what was happening and someone had to do so! And as for that job and the hug… Well that was a really nice thing to do – I didn't ask him to go out of his way like that and this is my first real job… It's a big deal."

"We know, Amelia," Carmen said, smiling and standing up. "I'm going to take off too. See you at the coffee house tomorrow, guys."

"We should head off too," Alfred said. Lovino nodded his agreement and stood too, the three of them saying their goodbyes and heading out of the apartment leaving Gwen and Amelia alone.

"I'm gonna be cleaning the apartment in the morning," said Gwen as she locked the front door. "My parents are coming round for dinner with Arthur and I and you remember what my mother is like…"

"Oh God…" Amelia said, her eyes widening a little at the memories of days spent at the Kirkland household as a child.

"Yeah…" Gwen sighed. "Anyway, go to bed… It seems like we both have to get up early in the morning…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Amelia was already out of the house when Gwen started cleaning the apartment in the morning, but that didn't stop any of the others coming in and sitting around to watch TV whilst she worked hard on making everything in the room perfect. Easily distracted, Alfred couldn't help but switch his attention between the TV and Gwen – he was slightly nervous about her erratic behaviour, but he remembered thanksgivings spent with her family and understood vaguely why she was so nervous about her mother and father coming round for a visit.

Sighing a little as he glanced at Lovino sprawled over the single chair near the couch, the Italian sipping a glass of lemonade he had pinched from the British girl's fridge, Alfred looked back at the television at the old program that was playing on screen. A woman had enter a room, her face surprised and her actions defensive.

"What the hell did I just miss?" he asked.

"She found a pair of panties under that guy's bed," Carmen replied, pointing to said garments in the lady's hands. Alfred tilted his head and blinked, nodding a little as he caught up. The pair watched as Gwen finished polishing the coffee table for the fifth time and rushed over to Lovino.

"Are you done with that?" she asked at the same time as pulling the glass away from Lovino's lips. Choking slightly, Lovino wiped his mouth and looked at her as she walked away towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, the swallowing just slowed me down!" he snapped.

Gwen looked back at him and glared challengingly before continuing to walk towards the kitchen. However, the sight of a small ball of scrunched up paper on the glass table that held the telephone caught her attention. "Who's ball of paper is that?" she asked, her voice even but with a cold air to it that made the other's shrink.

"Uh, that would be mine," Alfred replied. "See, I wrote a note to myself but then realised that I didn't need the note and then screwed it up and… and now I wish I was dead…" He trailed off near the end as Gwen sent him an icy, harsh glare before darting down to pick up the paper and flushed the pillow beside him violently.

"She already fluffed that pillow…" Carmen muttered. She looked up at her and spoke a little louder. "Gwen, you know you've already…" she paused as she too received a glare, "but that's fine…"

"Look, I'm sorry guys but I just don't want to give my parents any more ammunition than they already have…" Gwen said, finally entering the kitchen to dump the paper in the waste bin and put the glass in the sink to wash up.

"Yeah, and we all know how cruel a parent can be about the flatness of a child's pillow," Alfred said, getting up from his seat as Gwen hurried over to re-fluff the pillows he had been leaning on.

"Gwen…" Carmen muttered, shifting out of the way too. "You're really starting to scare me… I mean you're all chaotic and twirly… and not in a good way…"

"Yeah, calm down," Lovino said, looking up at her from his seat. "You don't see Arthur getting all chaotic and… twirly… when they come around."

"That would be because anything Arthur does in their eyes is perfect," Gwen said, raising her hands frantically. "He's their golden boy and nothing he can do is wrong in their opinion. But me! Oh, they love to point everything that I have done wrong, everything that I do that is nothing in comparison to what Arthur does!"

They watched as she wandered back into the kitchen to put some fresh fruit in the bowl on the dining table. Alfred, who had turned the TV off at that point, wandered over to the window to look out at the balcony only to blink as he saw something in the distance.

"Eww, eww, eww, eww, eww!" he shouted, pointing out the window at one across the street. "Ugly Naked Guy got a Thigh Master!"

"What?!" grinned Carmen, following him over and looking too. "Ewwwwww!"

Looking round as they heard the door open, they smiled as a very happy Amelia bounced over to them. The American girl had a bright smile on her face and an apron in her hands, her hair tied back into a small ponytail.

"I take it the interview went well," Lovino grinned, patting her back as she stopped beside him. She grinned up at him and nodded.

"Yep! Kiku gave me the job straight away and then set me off on a training morning to give me some experience," she smiled. "For the first few weeks I'll be working in the morning and afternoon vice-versa though today I'll be back in for the evening shift, but as soon as I've got enough experience under my belt I can be called on and chop and change my shifts to all day or either!"

"That's great," he smiled, kissing her temple. She blinked up at him and looked towards the others who chuckled.

"He does that," Alfred said. "Just be thankful it wasn't on the lips."

"It can be if you want."

"Nope," Amelia said. "Anyways, you guys have fun… gawping at the naked dude across the street… I'm gonna go change to go out and mentally prepare myself for the joy that is going to be returning Jay's ring to him tomorrow!"

Letting Amelia wandered into her bedroom, the group looked back at the window to watch the naked man across the street as he continued to use his thigh master. It was a peculiar past time they had had since Lovino had moved in with Alfred and they had first noticed the peculiar obese nudist bouncing on a pogo stick, an event that ended badly but only fuelled the group's interest in what he could possibly do next.

However, they were soon distracted as Amelia came back out of her room sounding very panicked.

"Oh no, oh no…" she muttered, looking around the living room frantically. She went over to the sofa and started to look under the cushions despite the hissed warnings by Carmen, then underneath getting more and more frantic by the second.

"Amelia, what's the matter?" asked Alfred, edging slightly away from Gwen as her eyebrows twitched before she went over to help her agitated friend.

"You know, it's not like I was dreading tomorrow enough as it was!" she said near hysterically. "What with having to give it back to him… I mean, like, 'hi, Jay, remember me? I'm the girl in the veil that stomped on your heart in front of your entire family!' Oh God, and now I'm going to have to return the ring without the ring which is going to make this so much harder!"

"Amie, calm down!" Gwen said. "We'll help you find it! Won't we guys?" Getting the hint, Alfred and Lovino nodded and started to look around other parts of the living room.

"When did you have it on last?" asked Lovino.

"Doigh, that's obvious - just before she lost it!" said Carmen. Lovino looked at her and rolled his eyes. Alfred chuckled and grinned at Gwen as she walked by him to finish her washing up.

"You know, you don't get a lot of doigh these days," he commented, smirking a little as Gwen cracked a smile.

"I know I had it this morning…" Amelia said, walking through to the kitchen. "I know I had it this morning whilst I was in the kitchen with…"

Alfred watched her for a moment, waiting for her to end her sentence before saying, "Dina?" to which Amelia shot him a nasty look. She turned her attention back to the kitchen side where a cooked lasagne sat in a baking tray.

"Please don't be mad…" she muttered, looking at Gwen who blinked as she realised. She glanced down at her lasagne then back up at Amelia and raised her eyebrows so high they were almost lost amongst the blonde hair of her fringe.

"Oh… you didn't…" Gwen said, her voice close to a hiss.

"I am so, so sorry…" Amelia muttered, moving out of the way quickly as Gwen moved over to the counter and lifted up the dish to look at the underside of the lasagne. The other's watched her, glancing at one another before joining the blonde pair in the kitchen.

"You know, Gwen," Alfred said, a hint of a smirk in his voice. "That's not how you look for an engagement ring in a lasagne…"

Closing her eyes for a moment, Gwen lowered the dish down onto the dining table and sighed softly. "I just… can't…" she said, walking away and keeping her back turned as Alfred and Lovino grinned and started to dig their way through the food until Lovino eventually found the ring hidden in a mound of sauce.

"I got it!" he grinned, handing the dirtied ring back to a beaming Amelia before sitting down and starting to eat the ruined lasagne. When the group looked at him oddly he shrugged and said, "well, it may be ruined but it's still good food!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Elizabeth and James Kirkland arrived at the apartment at 7pm. By that time the group had vacated the apartment to head to the coffee house to observe Amelia at another shift, Arthur had arrived and Gwen had showered and changed into a simple blue she hoped wouldn't be picked on by their parents. They didn't pay too much attention to her as they entered the apartment, focusing mainly on Arthur as Elizabeth hurried over to give her eldest son a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Elizabeth and James were a proud British couple, articulate and the only reason why the siblings had such strong English accents themselves. Elizabeth was average height with long blonde hair that reached half way down her back, much like her daughter's. She was a very beautiful woman – naturally slim and youthful. James was tall with messy red hair – he had the same build as Arthur and always wore a kind smile unless pushed too far. Both had green eyes like their children.

Before dinner, they settled on the sofa to have a chat about things they had been up to with their friends – Elizabeth constantly dropping hints to Gwen about how many of their friend's children were getting married or having children or even if single sons had done well or come back from trips. Sending desperate glances to her brother, Gwen went to the kitchen to bring in the appetisers whilst Arthur took the hint to supply their mother with a glass of red wine. However, after further comments about how well the son of yet another old friend was doing after his long trip to Egypt, Elizabeth started to fluff and plump up the cushions on the sofa.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Gwen let out a soft breath and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking the spaghetti for the bolognaise they would be having for dinner. "Arthur, would you mind coming over here and helping me for a moment?"

"Yes, of course," Arthur replied, smiling at their parents before walking over to his sister. She looked up at him pleadingly.

"I know this is going to sound incredibly selfish on my part, but were you planning on bringing up the whole baby-lesbian thing?" she asked. "Because I think it might take some of the heat off of me."

"After dinner," Arthur said. "They're getting a grandchild so yeah…"

10 minutes later the food was dished up and the family were sat around the dining table with their wine ready to eat. But of course, Elizabeth still had more to talk about as they sat and dug into the meal.

"You know, it's just awful what Amelia's done with her life," she said after swallowing. "We bumped into her parents the other day. Oh my, they were not happy with her. George was positively livid when we even mentioned her."

"Hmmm," nodded James. "I won't even tell you what they spent on their wedding… but $40,000 is a lot of money!"

"Well, at least she had the chance to leave a man at the altar," Elizabeth said casually, though Gwen very nearly flinched at the heavy implication that had just been thrown her way. Playing with her food for a moment, she glanced her Arthur through the corner of her eye and send him the same pleading expression as earlier.

Sighing softly, Arthur finished off the last of his meal and got up to stand by his parents. "Okay, I know you both have been wondering what really happened between Ambre and I to cause the divorce and… well, I can finally give you answers now…" he said. He paused for a moment as his parents turned to look up at him interestedly. "Ambre's a lesbian… She's living with a woman named Scarlet… She's pregnant with my child… and she and Scarlet are going to raise the baby…"

There was silence as the news sunk in before Elizabeth rounded on Gwen and said, "and you knew about this?!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

After their parents had left for home, Arthur and Gwen made their way down to the coffee house where the others were still hanging out on the couch. They made room for the siblings as they came over, Amelia going to get them some tea as they both looked physically drained.

"So, you're parents are really that bad?" asked Lovino as he watched Gwen slump down on to the couch and flick her legs up onto Alfred's lap, the American patting her legs near her feet comfortingly.

"These people are bloody pros," Arthur sighed, flopping into the arm chair. "They know what they are doing, they take their time and they get the job done…"

"I know they say you can't change your parents, but boy if you could…" Gwen said. She then looked at Arthur. "I'd want yours…"

"You know it's even worse when you're a twin," Carmen said. Amelia looked over at her in surprise.

"You're a twin?"

"Oh yeah, her name's Lina… we don't speak," Carmen said. "She's like this high-powered, driven career type."

"What does she do?" asked Alfred.

"She's a waitress."

Amelia shook her head and watched as Arthur got up and wandered off to the bathroom. "Okay, guys, I have to start closing up."

Nodding, the group got up from their seats and started to make their way out of the building, Gwen glancing back at Alfred as he walked behind her.

"You're an only child right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I had an imaginary friend," Alfred said. "Who my parents actually preferred…"

Amelia smiled a little and shut the door after them, locking the door before taking a broom and starting to sweep up the dust that had built up during the day. She made her way over to the door where the light switches were and turned them off, walking back into the main section of the coffee house just as Arthur came back from the bathroom. He looked around confused for a moment before his eyes landed on her.

"Uh, how long was I in there?"

Amelia chuckled. "I'm just cleaning up."

"Oh, would you like some help?"

"That would be great!" grinned Amelia, handing him the broom. Arthur smiled and started to sweep, pausing for a second as he realised Amelia had simply flopped down onto the sofa. Shrugging he continued his sweeping.

"So, are you nervous about going to see Jay tomorrow?" he asked.

"Uh… A little…" she said. "A lot… So… got any advice? You know… as someone who's recently been dumped…?"

Arthur chuckled a little. "Well, you may want to steer clear of the word 'dumped'," he said. "Chances are he's going to be this broken shell of a man, so try not to look too terrific – but I know that'll be hard." Amelia smiled a little, her cheeks pinking slightly. Arthur realised what he had said and spluttered for something to change the subject slightly as he hurried round to the back of the sofa so she wouldn't be able to see his embarrassed expression. "Or I could take Jay his ring back and you could go to the sonogram with Ambre and Scarlet!"

Blinking as she remembered, Amelia leant forwards and rubbed her head. "Oh, you have Ambre tomorrow…" she muttered. "When did things become so complicated?!"

"You got me…" Arthur sighed.

"You remember when we were in high school together?" Amelia said. Arthur nodded. "Didn't you used to think you would meet someone, fall in love and then that would be it...?"

"Yeah…" Arthur whispered, sitting down on the sofa beside her.

"I never thought my life would turn out like this…" Amelia sighed, letting her head flop down onto Arthur's shoulder. The Brit blinked and looked down at her, tentatively putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Neither did I…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The next day, Amelia made her way across town to where Jay's orthodontic practice was, walking into the building and getting let into his room by his secretary. She knocked on the door tentative, hoping that her casual look of pony tail and dungarees was enough to keep her ex-fiancé from getting upset.

"Come in," came a muffled call, so she opened the door and looked around until her eyes laid to rest on who she was looking for. Amelia blinked as she noticed a patient in the chair being treated.

"Are you sure you want me in here?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Jay said, finishing up the last little bit for that moment. "Jacob's going to be here for a few hours." The boy, Jacob, did not look happy about that. Jay pulled his surgical mask off and stood up, smiling at Amelia who looked surprised. Jay was tall and very tanned, more tanned than she remembered, and his hair seemed a like it had grown forwards a little and turned slightly redder. "So, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Amelia said. "You… you look great…"

"Well," Jay chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. They both looked round as the secretary paged him through the intercom in the room, Jay giving an apology before heading out of the room. Amelia watched him go and sighed, ignoring the boy as she let her hair down and started to do her make up – she was not letting him think she was as though she was suffering.

A few minutes later, Jay returned and made his way back to his seat beside Jacob, looking up at Amelia. "Sorry about that, my colleague is out sick today… so I've been looking out for his patients. Doesn't help it's my first day back. Anyways, what have you been up to?"

"Huh? Oh uh, nothing much, I got a job."

"That's great," Jay said, sliding across the room on his chair to get a couple of tools.

"Why are you so tanned?" asked Amelia.

"I went on our honeymoon."

"Alone?"

"No, actually… I, uh, I went with… Emily…" confessed Jay. Amelia blinked and rounded on him as he shuffled back to where he was needed.

"Emily? My Maid of Honour, Emily?!" she snapped.

"Yeah, we're kind of a 'thing' now," shrugged Jay.

"Oh…" Amelia said. "And your hair… your eyes too… You have lenses… yet you hate putting your finger in your eye…"

"Not for her," Jay smiled.

Amelia steeled herself, taking a short breath to keep herself calm before reaching into her purse and pulling out the ring box. She handed it to him and forced a smile. "I hope you're happy now," she said.

"Thanks," muttered Jay. "And, uh, thanks for giving it back."

"Thanks for giving it to me in the first place…" Amelia said, walking out of the room.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Arthur walked into the doctor's office and smiled a little as he saw Ambre sat on the bed already in the gown provided by the doctors. He frowned though as he spotted Scarlet sat in the chair opposite her, walking into the room and shutting the door after himself reluctantly.

"Hey," he said. "How are you doing, Ambre?"

"I'm doing fine," she replied, smiling.

"Sorry, I'm late," Arthur continued. "I got held up at work… You know, dinosaurs and stupid people don't really mix…"

Ambre chuckled, "that's okay. Scarlet and I were just talking about names for the baby."

"Oh?" asked Arthur, looking between the pair. "And?"

"Well, if it's a girl: Minnie."

Arthur didn't look impressed. "Minnie? As in Mouse?"

"No, as in my grandmother Miriam," Ambre said, frowning at the Brit.

"Yeah, but you see… you hear Minnie and you think Mouse," Arthur said. "How about… Uh, Alyson?"

"We agreed on Minnie," said Scarlet, her thick Scottish drawl piping up and causing Arthur to look round at her darkly.

"Yeah, well, Ambre and I agreed to spend the rest of our lives together but things changed," he snapped. "Roll with the punches."

Scoffing at him, Scarlet was about to retort but got interrupted as the doctor walked into the room. The smile dropped from the poor woman's face as soon as she sensed the tension washing off of the odd family, but she paid no mind and went straight to Ambre to check her over. Arthur sighed softly and rubbed his head.

"I can't do this…" he muttered. "I can't…" He went to walk out of the room but stopped as he heard a soft pumping noise. Looking round, he moved back over to his ex-wife and her new lover and looked at the monitor beside the bed – at the small person silhouetted on screen. He couldn't help but stare.

_**Notes:**_

**My God this took ages to write! I am sorry for the delay but you can tell why… 5,000 words later and this chapter is finally done! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! It's a challenge, and a good one!**

**I'm just taking it as it comes with updates really – I mean, technically If Eyes Could Speak should have been updated before this but I wasn't feeling it. So, not sure what will be updated next – just keep looking on!**

**Also, characters!**

**Lina – Anyone familiar with **_**Reputation**_** will recognise this girl! She is my OC for Portugal! I thought it only fitting for Carmen's sister to be her.**

**Emily – 2p Fem!America. Well, I had Jay in there as 2p America, may as well have them Nyotalia counterpart too. **

**See yas!**


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